The Espanyol captain Dani Jarque, who died yesterday, played in the pre-season friendly against Liverpool last week. Photograph: John Powell/Getty Images

Dani Jarque, the captain of Espanyol, has died from heart failure while on a pre-season tour of Italy, the Primera Liga club have announced.

The 26-year-old defender had trained on Saturday morning but collapsed in his hotel room in Coverciano while talking to his girlfriend on the phone in the early evening, Spanish media reports said. "The Espanyol player died due to a systolic heart failure," the club said in a statement.

"[Club doctor] Doctor Cervera tried CPR on the player and used a defibrillator but said it was not possible to resuscitate. Within minutes, the first emergency ambulances arrived from Florence, and tried their defibrillators but again were unable to resuscitate."

Medical services tried to revive Jarque for an hour before pronouncing the player dead, the club said.

"Espanyol are distraught and wish to put themselves at the complete disposal of our captain's family," the club added. Their director German de la Cruz told radio station RAC1: "It's inexplicable. It's horrific. We are returning to Barcelona on Sunday but we can't come back with the coffin because they have to do an autopsy to confirm the cause of death.

"The players are destroyed. One minute he was there with them, and the next he's gone. It's terrible."

The club had been due to play friendlies against Bologna and on their Italian tour. Last Sunday he led his team in a 3-0 victory against Liverpool, in the inaugural match at Espanyol's new ground, the Estadio Cornellá-El Prat.

Jarque came up through the youth ranks at Espanyol, helping them win the Copa del Rey in 2006 and to reach the Uefa Cup final in 2007, and had just been made captain of the club for the new season.

Jarque's death comes nearly two years after that of Sevilla midfielder Antonio Puerta, who died on 28 August 2007, three days after collapsing during a Primera Liga match against Getafe.